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World No. 1 Nelly Korda had a mindset shift this season, and the goal was to not crash out with any mistake or bogey.
In that vein, she started using Post-it notes with positive affirmations and put them on her bathroom mirror. She didn’t divulge any of them or what she might write for Sunday’s final round of the U.S. Women’s Open, but the message could be a career-defining one.
Korda finished with three consecutive birdies for a four-under 67 to move into a share of the lead Saturday at six under at Riviera Country Club. She’s the biggest name on the leaderboard, but there’s plenty of them up there. She’s tied at the top with 13-time LPGA winner and past major champion Sei Young Kim.
“I started at the beginning of the year writing positive notes to myself in my bathroom, and I’ve seen a bunch of athletes do that,” Korda said. “So other athletes inspire me, too. I started doing that and it’s a great reminder, and I do it occasionally here and there. I travel with Post-it notes and I stick them on to the mirror when I get ready and I write myself a positive note and that’s my thought for the week.”
The 27-year-old Korda has been in a good place all season, having won three times—including her third major at the Chevron Championship—and finishing in the top 10 in all seven of her events. She’s on pace to make it all eight. Korda, who was two shots off the lead after a terrific 67 on Friday, following a frustrating opening-round 73. After that round, her sister Jessica helped her tweak something with her grip on the driving range, and Korda has been on fire since.
Korda has a chance to make history. If she wins her first U.S. Women’s Open, she’ll be the youngest American player to reach four major wins since a 25-year-old Mickey Wright did it in 1960. Korda also would be three-quarters of her way to becoming only the eighth player to capture the career Grand Slam.
Korda will also be in fine company in the final pairing with co-leader Kim, also a major winner. The South Korean shot a three-under 68 Saturday. The 33-year-old Kim won the 2020 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and can draw on that experience.
“I have to focus on the course,” Kim said. “This course you really need patience and just focus on one shot at a time. It’s boring, but I have to do it.”
There are 13 players four shots or closer to the lead, and so many have majors under their belts. It’s a dream leaderboard for the USGA that also includes In Gee Chun and Jennifer Kupcho, who are one shot back of Korda and Kim.
Chun, who shot a two-under 69 Sunday, has won three majors, and it’s something she takes great pride in. Like so many major winners, it’s experience that can pay dividends in a showdown of so many of the world’s best players.
Kupcho seems to have unlocked something special at Riviera, and part of that is because she finally listened to her parents. Kupcho, who was the Chevron Championship the last time it was played in Mission Hills, said this week that they’d been trying to get her to prepare for U.S. Opens by playing the course ahead of time. She didn’t do that until this week and now she’s in contention and said she loves Riviera.
Her parents usually come to the U.S. Women’s Open but hadn’t this year. They surprised her on Saturday with their presence and got to see her shoot a two-under 69 with a chance to win Sunday. She’s carrying a sizzling putter and has gained 1.93 strokes on the field, ranking second.
“They didn’t want to just show up on the first tee, so that was nice of them,” Kupcho said. “They called me this morning and they’re like, ‘oh, you look really close to us.’ I was like, ‘what are you saying?’ And they’re like ‘we’re in Santa Monica.’ So that was pretty cool. Pretty cool to have them here.”
Mexican native Gaby Lopez is in a three-way tie for fifth along with Nasa Hataoka and Ruoning Yin at two shots off the lead. Lopez opened with a first-round 68 and has played solid, consistent golf all week. She’s made a habit to always meet and talk with golf course staff at every tournament she goes to and no doubt her gallery will have the grounds crew and other Riviera workers in it.
Alison Lee, who grew up in nearby Valencia and played at UCLA, hung in there without her best stuff on Saturday. Lee, who has 1-year-old son Levi with her this week, was tied for the lead after 36 holes but a one-over 72 Saturday has her three shots off the lead. The 31-year-old Lee is still searching for her first major.
“It hurts a little bit being in the final group and not being able to play as well as I wanted to,” Lee said. “I really felt like I was just scratching at the wall all day. Didn’t feel like I had my A-game out there, but I made a lot of really good par putts to keep me in it.
“Looking back on my round, one over, I feel like it could have been way higher than that. Going to just try and take positives from that. I love chasing, and so it’ll be fun tomorrow to try and just play really aggressively and try and chase the leaders.”
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Main Image: Ryan Sirius Sun
